Part 2 of 9 · Structure
The Twelve-Section Plan Structure and the Production Model
The order below is the order a reader expects. It is not the order in which you should write it — write the production model and the financial model first, because they generate the numbers every other section quotes.
Part 2 of 922% through the guide
| # | Section | The question it must answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Executive summary | What is this business, how big is it, what does it need, and what does it return? |
| 2 | Business description | Who owns it, where is it, what legal form does it take, and what exactly does it sell? |
| 3 | Production model | How many birds, how many cycles, at what weight, mortality and feed conversion? |
| 4 | Housing and infrastructure | What must be built or bought, and what does it cost? |
| 5 | Biosecurity and health | How will disease be kept out, and what happens if it gets in? |
| 6 | Market analysis | Who buys chicken here, how much, at what price, and from whom now? |
| 7 | Marketing and sales | How will you win and keep customers, and on what payment terms? |
| 8 | Financial model | What does a bird cost, what does it sell for, and when does the farm break even? |
| 9 | Funding requirement | How much is needed, for what, from whom, and how is it repaid? |
| 10 | Compliance and regulation | What registrations, permits and standards apply, and are they in place? |
| 11 | Risk analysis | What can go wrong, how likely is it, and what is the response? |
| 12 | Implementation plan | What happens in what order, by when, and who is responsible? |
Section 2.1The executive summary
Include, in this order: business name and legal form; location; scale in birds per cycle and cycles per year; target market and main customers; capital required and owner contribution; projected revenue and profitability at full production; and the expansion path.
Section 2.2Business description: the model choice that decides everything
| Business model | What it means | Implication for your plan |
|---|---|---|
| Live bird sales | Birds sold at the farm gate or delivered live | Lowest capital and regulatory burden; lowest price per kilogram |
| Dressed whole birds | Slaughtered and sold whole, chilled or frozen | Requires an abattoir or a toll-slaughter arrangement; higher price |
| Portioned and packed | Cut into portions, packed and branded | Highest price and highest capital, cold chain and compliance load |
| Contract growing | You grow birds owned by an integrator for a fee | Lowest market risk and lowest margin; the integrator supplies chicks and feed |
| Integrated operation | Own hatchery, feed, growing and processing | Only viable at large scale; a different plan entirely |
Section 2.3The production model: five assumptions that drive everything
| Assumption | Worked example | How to justify it in your plan |
|---|---|---|
| Birds placed per cycle | 10 000 | Derived from house floor area at your stocking density |
| Cycles per year | 6 | Calculated from grow-out plus cleaning and resting days |
| Target live weight | 2.2 kg | Set by what your customers buy; state the age at which it is reached |
| Days to target weight | 38 days | Breed-specific; Ross, Cobb and Arbor Acres publish performance standards |
| Mortality | 4.5% | Budget 5% as a conservative baseline; good operators achieve 3–4% |
| Feed conversion ratio | 1.70 | Kilograms of feed per kilogram of live weight; industry reference is about 1.85 |
| Feed per bird | 3.74 kg | Feed conversion ratio × target live weight |
Feed per bird (kg) = feed conversion ratio × target live weight (kg)
1.70 × 2.2 kg = 3.74 kg of feed per bird
Section 2.4How many broiler cycles can you actually run per year?
The house is only earning for 38 of the 52 days. Cleaning, disinfection and resting are not optional — skipping them is how disease carries from one batch to the next.
| Stage | Days | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Brooding (days 1–7) | 7 | Chicks placed, 32–34°C, starter crumble |
| Growing (days 8–26) | 19 | Grower feed, ventilation management, vaccination |
| Finishing (days 27–38) | 12 | Finisher feed, weight gain, feed withdrawal |
| Catching and despatch | 1 | Loading, weighing, delivery to customer |
| Cleaning and disinfection | 7 | Wash down, disinfect, fumigate, dry |
| Resting (downtime) | 6 | House rested before the next placement |
| Total cycle length | 52 | 365 ÷ 52 = 7.0 cycles theoretically achievable |
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